Coded
by Aleines
Summary: Set a year after the events of Skyfall. Q has befriended the well-loved secretary of Q Division. When she is kidnapped and held ransom for something from her past, it's up to him to save her. Q/OC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the James Bond franchise. The only I own is the original characters in this fiction: Penelope Bridey and Eddie Pickerton.

* * *

The kettle was whistling. The steam spewed out of the neck of the metal pot. Two hands rushed to turn off the stove top. A tea bag was placed in the mug waiting for it. A spoon was used to stir the tea bag to allow the flavor to seep out into the steaming hot water that was quickly added. The mug was brought to a pair of perfectly painted red lips, which blew on the steam to cool down the water to a drinkable level.

Penelope Bridey took her cup of tea as well as her lunch back to her office desk, where her work station was set up. She sat down in the chair and opened her bag, pulling out a turkey sandwich from the shop down the street. Before starting on the sandwich, she quickly typed in her three passwords to unlock the computer. She pulled up her email to check if she had recieved any new emails intended for her boss. When she saw there was none, she closed the page, and took a bite of her sandwich.

"A bit hungry Penelope?" Eddie called at her from a few desks back. He was an average-looking man, with nothing distinguishable about his face. Mousy brown hair that laid flat on his head, plain grey eyes, just the slightest hint of stubble on his chin. A second-hand gray wool suit with no label, and boring brown shoes completed his look. He always made Penelope feel strange, like he was watching her when her back was turned. He sat at his own desk, eating a granola bar and sipping his own cup of tea. He smirked and nodded at her sandwich, which was on the larger side.

"Starving," Penelope said sarcastically after she had swallowed the bite. Eddie chuckled, but said no more. Penelope ate her sandwich in silence, listening and watching the people around her.

Penelope was the secretary for the Q Division of MI6. All she did was take calls, do filing, and take notes during meetings. For such a high-risk job, it was reletively simple, and dare she say it, almost boring. They hadn't had any incidents since the Silva chaos, and though Penelope was happy about that, she did wish something lively would happen more often than it did.

Penelope never wanted to be a receptionist. She never even intended to work for MI6. Her plans were to be a writer. A reporter. She was a brilliant student in school, but never went to university due to lack of funding and her parents dying. Instead, she got into the talent of hacking. Anything she could get into, she got into. Secrets and plans, affairs and robberies. They were all in her hands with the quick flash of her fingers across the keyboard. She would find out peoples secrets and then sell them for money to get by. Mostly to the newspapers or other businesses. She had gotten in too deep with one scheme and ended up trying to hack into the MI6's foreign affairs, but she never got past the first passcode. Agents were knocking on her door, and bringing her into questioning.

The head of Secret Services, an elderly woman called M questioned her brutally. When she saw that Penelope was not actually a threat and just a young woman using her talents to get by in the world, she hired her as a secretary. She was forced to sign a contract stating that as long as she was taken care of by MI6, she would not be hacking into anything, whether it be government related or not. Penelope often wondered how long they would "take care" of her, and what would happen to her when they decided to stop.

* * *

"Penelope? Could you come here please?" She heard her name called out from the back of the room. She stood up, not needing to look back to see who it was. She knew exactly who was calling for her. The head of her department, Q. A tall, gangly young man with extremely dishelved long black hair and a paled complexion. A pair of glasses always sitting on his nose, hiding his green eyes. He was definitly handsome, Penelope admitted to herself. But everyone knew Q was married to his work, and was the most awkward person to talk to if you were a female. So Penelope pushed her thoughts aside and always focused on her work.

"How can I help Q?" Penelope asked as she stepped into Q's workspace.

"Could you please deliver this to M?" Q asked, handing her a sliver flashdrive. "Do not let that get into the wrong hands. It's all the information on 007's new gun and if anyone knew what was on it, it would be most unfortunite for Bond."

"Of course," Penelope took the tiny drive. "Have I ever let you down before?"

"No, but one can never be to careful," Q mumbled, knowing she really had never failed him on any task she was ever given. He knew Penelope was reliable, and loyal. She would never betray her government, even if they practically forced her into employment.

"Anyone trying to get this information would have to pry it from my cold dead hands," Penelope smirked at the man. He gave her a small smile and a nod, and Penelope turned to walk out.

"Oh, and Penelope?" She heard him call again. She already knew what he wanted.

"I'll be sure to get your tea on the way back," she smiled. He grinned back at her. Q had begun working for MI6 two years after Penelope began working there. Before, the old Q was an elderly man with a cheeky sense of humor. Penelope had enjoyed working for him, and when he decided to retire, she was sad to see him go. But then the present Q began working, and Penelope soon found she liked him just as much as the old Q. He was a lot quieter, and could be very condescending to people below his intelligence, but he was a diligent worker, and once you got past the standoffish exterior, he was very polite. It was not long before he and Penelope were used to each other, and she could tell when he needed another cup of tea just by the look of how stressed he was.

Penelope squeezed her hand around the flashdrive and made her way out of the Q Division. She could feel a pair of eyes on her back, and she knew they were Eddie's, but she made no movement that indicated she cared. She only continued towards the elevators, which would take her M's office.  
The elderly woman who had interviewed Penelope three years ago had passed away only a year ago. It was a tragidy to all the workers, as they had all developed deep respect and admiration for the woman. However, the man in his 50's with a receading hairline that had taken over was just as admirable and many of the workers had already taken a liking to him. His name was Gareth Mallory, but of course, in the workplace, he was only M.  
Penelope found herself at the door leading to Eve Moneypenny's office, which in turn, lead to M's office. Moneypenny was M's personal secretary. She knocked on the door, waited a few seconds, and proceded in. She found Moneypenny sitting at her desk, and Mr. James Bond leaning against a table across from her.

"Hello Bridey," Moneypenny smiled at her. She and Penelope had become close due to their similar jobs and their need to be present at meetings. When meetings were particularly slow, they would flick tiny folded up notes at each other like schoolgirls, complaining about the stuffy old boardmembers and Bond's smart suits. Penelope loved to tease Moneypenny about Bond because she knew the woman and the agent were always chasing each other all over the building.

"Hello Moneypenny," Penelope said. "Hello Mr. Bond. I just need to give M this flashdrive. It's got all the information for your new toy." She looked at Bond.

"Oh, by all means, give it to him. The sooner he clears it all, the sooner I get it," Bond gave her a small smile.

"There's nobody in, so you go right ahead," Moneypenny gestured at the door that lead to M's office.

"Thank you," Penelope walked towards and and opened the leather-padded door.

M was standing by the window looking out, a teacup in his hand, ready to be dranken out of. When Penelope entered, he stopped and looked over at her.

"Ah, what has Q cooked up today?" He asked, moving towards his desk and sitting down. Penelope handed him the flashdrive.

"He didn't tell me, just wanted to make sure you got it and not someone else," she explained.

"Which is why he sent you to deliver it," M looked up at her. He knew just as much as Q that Penelope would not linger from the path. She was quick and prompt, and they both valued that. M knew it was hard to come by such faithful workers.

"Well, thank you Bridey, I'll be sure to look this over quickly and have it sent back to Q as quick as I can. We wouldn't want 007 to wait for the new gadgets too long, now do we?"

"Not at all sir," Penelope said. "Thank you." She turned and walked out.

"Have you gone to lunch yet Penelope?" Moneypenny asked her as she entered the smaller office.

"Yes, I have, but I need to go to the kitchen anyways, I can walk with you," Penelope offered.

"Why are you going to the kitchen?" Bond asked.

"To get a cup for Q," Penelope explained.

"Oh, he has you fetch his tea for you now? Or do you do it because you're so nice?" Bond asked suggestivly. Penelope rolled her eyes. She knew where this was going.

"I do it because I know when someone is stressed and tea is always a good destresser," she told him.

"I'm sure, and what is it that is stressing the boy so much? The long hours? Staring at a computer screen for days on end? Or maybe from his lack in companionship?"

"Probably from trying to delvelop new technology that will save your arse when the time is needed." Penelope snapped at him. He smirked, admiring her quick wit.

"I should be going," Penelope said. "I need to get back to work."

"Yes, let's let the girl fetch her boss's tea and we'll go out for lunch," Bond told Moneypenny. She quickly agreed, grabbing her purse.  
"Bye Penelope," Moneypenny called as they parted ways.

Walking back, Penelope became uneased. She felt like something was not right. She looked around to see if someone was doing something they should not have been doing, but she saw no one out of place. Still feeling wrong, she hurried to the kitchen and prepared Q's tea. It was then that Eddie stepped into view.

"Hello Penelope," he greeted her.

"Hello Eddie," Penelope said back. She was not fond of Eddie and how he always leered at her. However, she put up with him for the sake of her job.  
Eddie walked over to the counter she was standing at, and watched as she poured the hot water into Q's favorite mug.

"Do you need something?" She asked impatiently. She was feeling extremely uncomfortable by his closeness to her.

"No, no, nothing I can't do myself," he answered. He continued to stare at her, his eyes flickering all over her body. Penelope finished getting the cup ready, waved goodbye, and was on her way back to the Q Division. It wasn't until she reached the door when she realized Eddie was right behind her.

"Here, let me get that for you," he opened the door for her.

"Oh, thank you Eddie," Penelope nodded at him and entered the room.

She began walking towards the back of the room to Q, when suddenly a hand latched onto her wrist. Gasping, Penelope was forced around, and found herself face to face with Eddie. He seemed livid, much unlike his decently composed self he was a moment ago. His plain grey eyes were filled with sudden rage.

"Where is it?" He hissed, only loud enough for her to hear.

"What are you talking about? Let me go." Penelope tried to pull her wrist out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

"I need it, where is it?" He demanded.

"Eddie, stop, I really don't know what you're talking about!" Penelope didn't want to cause a scene, but she was starting to panic. She had no idea what was going on and she didn't know how far Eddie would go.

Q was standing at his workstation, typing away, when he noticed a commotion at the front of the expansive room. He looked up, and saw Penelope standing by her front desk, his tea mug in hand, but also Eddie, one of the more suspcious workers, gripping onto her wrist and looking like he was about to do damage to her face. He could see the sheer panic in Penelope's face and was suddenly very worried.

"Hey! What's going on?" Q hollered at them. He abandonded his work and started towards them. Eddie dropped Penelope's wrist as soon as he heard Q's voice, and straightened up, clearing out his throat.

"Nothing, nothing's going on," he said calmly. "We were just chatting. Weren't we Penny."

"I don't believe anyone here is allowed to call her 'Penny'," Q remarked. "A nickname is used by friends or family, neither of which are you. So please stick to calling her Penelope or Bridey, which I would prefer. Now, I do not believe that you were just chatting. It looked like something much more, and I demand to know what was happening."

"You sound like a child that's been left out of the conversation," Eddie chuckled. "Go back to your work Q. There's nothing to see here."

Q stepped foreward and toward over Eddie. "I am your boss Mr. Pickerton. And you will do as I say. Now tell me, what was going on here? Why were you attacking Penelope?"

Penelope was shaking by that point. She had no idea what to do or say. She was at a complete loss of words. Eddie smirked at Q, when they heard a low beep. Looking down, Q saw a small radio in Eddie's hand. He had just pressed a button on it, causing a light to flash red. This could only be something terrible. Just as Q was coming to this realization, Eddie pulled out a gun. Q's reflects were good, but not excellent, and he only just managed to shove Eddie's arm out of the way before he fired the first bullet. Eddie was thrown back, giving enough time for Q and Penelope to dive behind the front desk. Everyone in the division paniced, running for safety. Eddie had quickly recovered and was now firing bullets at anyone he saw. It was then that they realized that the building was in complete uproar. They could hear screaming coming from the rooms outside, as well as more gunshots.

"Come out little Penny," Eddie called out. He sounded like a lunatic, chuckling and sighing. "Come out and give me what I want."

"What does he want?" Q whispered to her.

"I don't know!" Penelope whispered back. "I really don't know!"

"I know you know what I want," Eddie taunted. "It's somewhere hidden and only you know where to find it. And I _really_ want. So you're going to come out, and come with me, and show me where you've hidden it. And then you're going to be let go. You're going to be let go right into the middle of the ocean. Where you belong."

He fired off a few shots to emphasize his point.

"I wonder if I need to pursuede you to give it to me," Eddie wondered aloud. He moved quicker than they could realize, and before they knew it, he had one of the smaller female coders locked under his arm. She cried out in pain and fright, and struggled against his grip, but he held tight. "Come out right now and I won't plant a bullet in little Idra's puney brain."

Penelope knew he was not bluffing That was not something you bluffed about. Before Q could stop her, Penelope had stood up with her hands in the air.

"Stop!" She yelled. Eddie and Idra both froze. A smirk grew on Eddie's lips and he knew he had won. Q grabbed at Penelope, hissing at her to get down, but she merely swatted him away and stepped foreward out of his reach. "Let her go," she instructed the madman. He let Idra go and she scrambled away to hide under a desk.

"Come closer dear," Eddie told her. She did as he said, walking into reaching distance. He grabbed her by the throat and brought her close. "You're going to give it to me and then I'm going to kill you. And if you don't do as you're told, I'll kill everyone in this building, including your precious Q. Do you understand?"

Penelope nodded. Eddie held onto the back of her neck and yanked her out of the room. It was then that Penelope realized just how much of an uproar Eddie had caused. There were men dressed in black shooting up the place, trying to get rid of as many agents and other workers as they could. Eddie dragged Penelope through the battlefield and through a door that lead to a deserted hallway. At the end of it was an elevator. Penelope did not recogonize this way and she wondered if anyone had known about it.

"Get your ass in there," Eddie growled at her, as he pushed her into the waiting elevator. He quickly pressed the down button and the doors closed. Just as they were closing, the door at the end of the hallway burst open and there was Bond and Q rushing after them. But they did not make it to them in time and Penelope and Eddie were going down to an unknown destination. Penelope wanted to break down. Just before the doors had closed, she had seen Q's face and it was of pure terror. He was scared for her. Just as she was scared for herself.


	2. Chapter 2

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" Q yelled out in frustration. He had spent the last two hours attempting to track down Penelope but to his annoyance, he had failed every try. James stood on the other side of the table with M and Moneypenny, waiting to hear results.

"Calm down," James told the Quartermaster. "You'll get nowhere if you act irrational."

"This whole situation is irrational!" Q argued. "We don't even know why she was taken in the first place, so I don't know which direction they'd even be going on anything. Not in location, not in technology, not in anything. They are virtually off the map. I can't even find a flaw in that arse's file to see where we went wrong in the background check. It is completely flawless!"

"There has to be something," M said calmly. It was amazing how well composed he had remained since the entire fiasco had been nuetralized. All the men working for Eddie had been eliminated, much to their dismay. They had hoped for at least one to question, but any they tried to capture, had committed suicide. ALongside their deaths, many of MI6's real agents were killed in the shootout. A service would be held the following week. As soon as M knew they were onto Eddie's path, he planned to go back to his office with Moneypenny and begin the neccessary preperations.

"No there's not," Q ran his fingers through his hair before going back to the laptop.

"Are you sure her phone's tracker isn't working?" Moneypenny asked.

"I've checked three times. She doens't even have it. It's in her bag which is at her desk which is here in this office."

"Chin up Q," Bond said. "He won't keep quiet for long. He's going to grow restless. Something will happen and we will get a clue."

"For the sake of my sanity, I hope you're right," Q mumbled. James shot him a funny look, but said nothing.

"I need to go to my office and start the preperations for the service," M annouced. "As soon as any information is gained, I want to be the first to know. Moneypenny?"

As soon as they were gone, James turned to Q.

"Why are you so keen on getting Penelope back?"

"I'd be keen on getting anyone back," Q said, not looking up from his laptop.

"Yes, but you seem particularly stressed over this girl," James looked at him knowingly. He was aware of how Penelope felt for the boy, but as for Q's emotions, he was clueless. Q said nothing, refusing to look up. "Tell me Q, what are your feelings for this girl?"

"I have absolutly no idea what you are talking about," Q said.

"I think you do."

Q finally looked up at him, and knowing that Bond was not one to give up, he sighed.

"I care for her, alright?" He explained. "Is that what you wanted to hear? That I fancy the office secretary? That I have been smitten with her since day one? That I am at fault that this girl is now in the hands of a madman and I have no idea how to get her back?"

He walked to his chair and sat down, putting his head in hands and tried to calm himself. Bond did not know how to respond. He had never dealt with a situation like this.

"It's not you're fault," he said quietly, hoping that was the right thing to say. It was not.

"Yes it is!" Q stood back up and faced Bond. "I sat there while he grabbed her and put a gun to her and dragged her out into the firefight. I stood there and let it happen. And the last time I will probably ever see her face, she looked like she was going to cry from the realization that she might die!"

Suddenly, all the computer screens in the room lit up red. They began rapidly flashing between red and white, before finally settling on white. The words "Want to see your pretty girl?" were typed across the blank space. Then, the color desinigrated into a shot of a dark room. It was live feed from an unknown location, they knew. The room had a single light shining down in the middle of it, and under that single light, Penelope sat tied up to a chair with a tape across her mouth. They could see how beat up she was- bruises all over her face, a trickle of blood streaming from her nose, a nasty black eye. Her hair was a mess, and the top buttons of her blouse had been ripped open enough to reveal a thin red line on the left side of her chest- a knife cut.

"Oh God," Q immediantly began working on the computer, trying to learn where the camera feed was coming from. Bond stood by his side, ready to help at any moment.

"Hello little Quartermaster," they heard Eddie's voice through the speakers. "Did you miss me? I missed you. And I think Penelope here misses you very very much, don't you sweetheart?"

They saw him come into view, standing next to a frightened Penelope. He leaned down close to her face, touching her neck. Q saw her flinch, and could not help but feel inwardly pleased she rejected his touch. But he needed to concentrate.

"Listen to me Quartermaster," Eddie demanded. Q looked up at the screen. "This bitch isn't letting up so I'm forced to turn to you. I want the flashdrive. I don't care if you have no idea where it is, you're going to find it for me. And if I don't have my flashdrive within 24 hours, she's dead. Do you hear me? DEAD. And you'll be next, along with your precious MI6. Are we clear?"

He turned to look at Penelope. Leering down at her, his face grew a smug grin. He raised a hand back, and with a strength they did not realize he possessed, he brought it down across Penelope's face. A loud, thick slapping sound echoed, followed by Penelope's muffled screams. She looked back up, tears pouring down from her eyes. This infuraited him. He felt sick and angry and he could not tell if he wanted to scream or throw up.  
"Do hurry with the drive," Eddie said calmly, looking at the camera. "I'm not a patient man."

He reached back and grabbed a handful of Penelope's brown curls and yanked back on them, causing her to cry out in pain again, chocking on her tape gag. Before they could see anything else, the camera went black and the screens returned to their original sites.

"Bugger! I couldn't trace it. The signal keeps bouncing all over the map. I can't pinpoint it."

"What flashdrive Q?" Bond demanded.

"I don't know, I've never heard anything about some flashdrive. Penelope should not even be involved with anything of this sorts.. According to her contract, she's not allowed to do anything relating to code until she's been let go by MI6, and even then I doubt they'd let her."

"Well, she's done something and we need to figure it out now or we loose one of the most reliable people here."

"Do you think I don't know that?"

"Well, I was just reminding you," Bond said, trying to keep the young man calm. He knew Q's calm exterioir was a mask. Inside was a scared man who was afraid of loosing the only girl he's ever had any sort of connection with with the memory that he could have stopped it.

"What about her flat?" Bond suggested. Q looked at him.

"Well, that seems like the only thing we have to go on," he said. "We need to go now. And we need to tell M what's happened."

"I'll tell M," Bond said. "Meet me in the parking lot."

He hurried away as Q began closing down his station. He grabbed his coat and began walking out when he remembered Penelope's purse. He went to her desk and began looking for it. His eyes drifted over her workspace, taking in all the details. He was always one for details, and Penelope's seemed intriguing. She keep her things clean, and organized, but not pristine and stuffy. Her personality was splashed everywhere. A cup holder for a collection of colorful pens, some file folders in delicate prints, a teal tray for collecting things that came in. Two tiny picture frames sat to one side, a black-and-white shot of an elderly couple in one, and a color of a cat in the other. A small owl figurine stood next to the computer, which sat in the midst of it all. He noticed a piece of paper peaking out from the under the base of the screen. He picked it up and saw that it was a note from himself.

On his first day at MI6, he had been extremely anxious and nervous. He had been snippy with everyone, not realizing how patronizing he was being. Penelope had sensed that he was overstressed, and had made him a cup of peppermint tea and written him a note letting him know he did not need to be so mean. He had immediantly felt terrible and wrote her back a note, explaining he was sorry and that it was from his nerves. He also mentioned he did not actually like peppermint, but instead perferred Earl Grey. Two days later, he found a steaming cup of Grey in a mug with a prominent Q on the front waiting for him at his desk. He did not need to ask to know who had gotten it for him.

Q smiled as he read over the note he had given her a year ago, secretly glad she had kept it all this time. He had kept her note as well, hidden in his favorite book that he always kept at his desk. Whenever he had time to spare he would pick up where he had left off and always seemed to find the note. It never failed to make him smile. She had been so daring, telling off her boss on his first day. He wondered what would have happened to her had he had been anyone else, like M or somebody like that. She probably would have been sacked.

Sighing, he placed the note in his pocket, not wanting to leave it. He picked up Penelope's peacoat from her chair, and her purse from under the desk. He laughed when he saw the purse, just as he did everytime he saw it. It was a small, bright neon pink satchel, and Penelope had had it since before he worked there. He liked to tease her on it, and she always claimed the same thing- she bought a bright bag so she would never lose it.  
He checked the bag to make sure her flat key was in it, along with her wallet, and then made sure her computer was turned off before walking out of the room. He made is way to the parking lot like Bond had instructed him and found the agent waiting by a sleek black Range Rover.

"Do you know where she lives?" Bond asked.

"Yes, I do," Q replied, getting into the car.

"Oh?" Bond raised his eyebrows, as if implying something. Q caught it.

"God, is sex the only thing that comes to your mind when women are brought up?" He asked. James only chuckled. "No. I only know where she lives because a few months ago she was sick and had forgotten the notes from a meeting that she was supposed to type up so she asked me to deliver them to her. So, being a good person, I did."

"And you just happen to remember exactly where her flat is, after all this time?"

"I have an eidetic memory," Q stated. He heard Bond mumble, "of course you do."


	3. Chapter 3

Q removed the key to Penelope's flat and unlocked her door. Opening it, he was greeted by darkness and silence. The last time he was here, Penelope had had the TV on and the lights were lit. Even while sick, she had been full of life. Now, her home was nothing more than a reminder that she was not safe in it.

The two men made their way throughout the flat, checking to make sure the coast was clear. Once they were sure it was secure, they set about looking for any sort of technology-related devices. Flashdrives, memory cards, her laptop and camera, hardrives, burned computer discs. They brought everything into the living room and set it all up on the coffee table. Q began sifting through it all, getting into her computer and searching for clues. He was impressed by her work. She still had hundreds of files backed up with extensive backgrounds on different people of different positions in society. CEOs, news reporters, bankers. She even had a file on a famous movie star detailing a very scandalous affair. He noticed that these were all dated files though, from before she worked at MI6. These couldn't have been what Eddie was after.

Q worked through all the flashdrives, the hardrives, and the discs. He checked the camera and the memory cards. Everything was empty of suspicious work. Q rubbed his eyes, exhausted from the day's events.

"Don't fall asleep on me now Q," Bond said. "We only have 19 more hours and we're nowhere close to figuring this out."

"I know, I wouldn't fall asleep right now if you paid me," Q said in all seriousness.

"That's a dedicated boy," Bond smirked. Q rolled his eyes and went back to looking through the first hardrive again.

As he scanned through the files, he noticed something he had missed before. A file labeled "FD Location: Do Not Lose". He clicked on it and a three passcode security came up. Q began working on cracking through the system. After 4 failed attempts, another screen came up. It looked like a virtual bike lock, with digital chains wrapped around the three passcode box. In the corner of the lock, was "Q10". At first, he thought that was one of the three passcodes, but then he wondered if it was meant for him. "No, that's silly, she wouldn't leave me a message on her own computer," he thought.

"But wait, what if it's a reminder to herself?" The thought clicked on a lightbulb. He delved deep into his mind, trying to think up any four-number combination that they might have discussed. He tried her birthday, which he rememberd they talked about. Fail. He tried the first four digits of her cell phone number, which he had. Fail. He had one more chance before it locked for thirty minutes. He could not waste anymore time than he already was. Finally, he tried his own birth year. He remembered they had joked about him being so young and how everyone was always surprised that he was the Quartermaster.

To his delight, the virtual bike lock opened, giving a list of what looked like clues. He figured these clues would help him crack the first three passwords. The first clue read "Tea flavor". Q grinned, and typed in "Earl Grey". A green light appreared next to it.

The second read "Pirate". Embarrissed by this one, he wrote "The Mighty Men". He recalled confessing how he had wanted to be a pirate as a young boy, even going as far as to name his imaginary pirate crew. Penelope had laughed so hard that even though he was embarrised, he laughed as well.

The last was the toughest. The clue was "Location for a Bad Day". He racked his brain for anything that might have to do with some place either of them went to on a bad day. He could not remember ever telling her where he went on a bad day, because frankly, he didn't have a place. Concentrating, he picked through any detail he could remember. Then it hit him. His workplace.

She had come into his area one day, absolutely fuming. She had been nagged at by a fellow employee over something absolutly ridiculous and they refused to let up on it. For over an hour, they had bothered her nonstop and finally, she stormed over to Q and demanded that he tell the man to back off of her, which he did. After the man left her alone, Penelope calmed down and remained in the workplace for half an hour. When she went to leave again, she mentioned to Q that his area was a good place when things were tough. He had gladly offered his company in the room whenever she had a bad day.

Overjoyed, Q typed in "Q's Workplace". The green light appeared and he was in.

The only thing in the file was an unnamed document. He clicked on it and saw that the only thing on it was a short series of numbers. Looking at them, he realized they were GPS coordinates. Grabbing his phone, he punched in the numbers. The directions were brought up and he saw that they lead him right to Penelope's bedroom. He followed them, and found himself looking a bookshelf. He stared at it for a minute, then started removing books. Bond walked in and saw the young man making a mess of Penelope's room.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked.

"The flashdrive is here somewhere, I know it," Q explained. He continued to take the books out. He grabbed at the copy of _Peter Pan and Wendy_, when the back of the shelf moved on its own. He saw a hollowed out space behind the shelf, and reached in it. His fingers brushed against a box, and he picked it up. Inside the box, was the flashdrive.

"Oh my God, I've found it," Q whispered. A wave of relief rushed over him as he realized that Penelope's life could be saved now.

"Find out what's on it, now," Bond demanded. Q ran back to his laptop and plugged the drive in. The document screen came up and showed only one file labeled "L. Paxton: CONFIDENTIAL".

He clicked on it and a generic number code security was needed to be hacked to get through. After a few minutes, Q managed tofigure it out, feeling slightly concered that this security was much more lax than the one to get the drive. Once he was in, several documents were brought up. One was a copy of an email sent from someone named Simon Blake to someone called Laura Paxton. The email stressed that this Laura was in immediant danger from her husband, who remained nameless through the message. This Simon Blake mentioned that Laura should go a place he only called "Location B".

After reading the email, he moved on to the next document, which was a map of Belgium. A small pinpoint stood over a dot labeled "Casteau". Q recognized the name as a small village in Belgium. He assumed this was "Location B". The third and final document was a video. Q became highly suspicious of it when he saw the title- "E.'s Murders".

The video was two minutes long, and to Q's horror, consisted of a series of brutal murders committed by none other than Eddie Pickerton himself. If Q had considered him a madman before, he did not know what to consider him now. What he viewed was horrific to say the least.

"Bond, I know why Pickerton wants this so much," he told the agent. Bond looked over at him, waiting for the answer. "He's a murderer planning on finding a woman I can only assume is is wife. She's in danger if he gets this information."

"And Penelope is if he doesn't," James countered. Q felt conflicted. He did not want Penelope dead, but he also did not want an innocent woman dead either, nor for this man to continue his murder spree.

"We need to get this to M and see what he decides," Q said. He placed the drive in his bag and went to close the laptops when the screen turned flashing red. "Oh God." His voice trailed off. He knew it was another livefeed from Pickerton.

Just as it did before, the screen began flashing red and white before settling on white. This time, the message that was typed was "Pretty girl is waiting...". And then they were viewing Penelope. She was in much worse state than before. She was still tied to the chair with tape over her mouth. She was seemingly passed out, her head leaning back, almost lifeless. Her legs and hands were limp, as if she were dead. Had he not seen her chest rise and fall in a ragged movements, Q would have thought she really was deceased.

He heard Pickerton's voice. "She is so pretty, it's such a shame you're taking so long with my flashdrive. I'd hate to ruin her even more."

He walked into view, stepping up next to the unconcious woman. He lightly stroked her arm, which Q noticed was now bare- Pickerton had ripped away the sleeve. He watched as Penelope squirmed a little, sensing the touch. Pickerton reached into his pocket and pulled out a long black pocketwatch. Q held his breath in anticipation. The man looked straight into the camera.

"You'd better hurry. You only have 17 hours left." Before Q could understand what was happening, Pickerton had cut through the skin on Penelope's arm, waking her from her unconcious state with a gagged scream. A steady stream of blood began pouring from the cut that reached from her wrist to her elbow. Penelope's body began convulsing- she was having a panic attack from the shock. Q grabbed the laptop screen, unable to fully comprehend what to do with himself.

"I'll be checking in later," Eddie said before the computer went black. Seconds later, it returned to the previous screen.

"We need to go now," Bond grabbed his jacket from the couch.

"Yes, you're right," Q hurried shutting everything down. He followed the agent out of the apartment and down to the waiting car.

The car ride back to MI6 was silent. Bond knew Q was in a state of shock from what he witnessed. It was not everyday he saw the girl he fancied being tortured in such a cruel way. When they reached the building, they parked and rode the elevator up. Not wasting any time, they manuvered their way to M's office and did not even bother to knock nor wait for Moneypenny to let them pass.

"We found the flashdrive," Q announced before they were even all the way in the room.

"Well it's about bloody time, I was afraid we were going to lose the girl," M stood from his seat and walked over to them. "Where is it and what's on it?"

Q pulled the flashdrive out from his bag and handed it to his boss. "Pickerton is after his wife, who is in hiding- from him," he explained. "Penelope found incriminating evidence against him as well as the wife's location and it's all on this. He's trying to get it so he can kill the wife."

"But Penelope's hacking days are over. We made sure of that," M looked at him, expecting answers.

"The files date back to five years ago. Penelope found them before we were ever even onto her," Q said. "That means Pickerton's been after her all this time, which could explain why the background was so flawless."

"Alright, so how do we get this to him and get Penelope back?" M questioned.

"Wait, we are really going to trade this for her? What about the life of the woman?" Q asked.

"Are you willing to lose Penelope for the sake of a woman you've never even heard of till today?" M raised his eyebrow. Q was silent.

"Q, I really had hoped you would think of me better than giving into the enemy," M took the flashdrive and walked back behind his desk. "No, we are not going to just give Pickerton the drive. We're going to get Penelope back and capture the madman. Bond will take care of that last bit. You will get us into contact with him."

"But what is the plan? How will we get him to give her up without giving him the flashdrive?"

"Find out what he wants us to do," M started. "Find a way to get in contact with him. Then we'll work from there."

"Alright, but I have to admit, it may be difficult to get into contact," Q confessed. "Both times we've been contacted by him, it was one-way, and untraceable. I couldn't get a pinpointed location from where the video was being fed from."

"Well, get to work on it," M instructed. "Bond, go with him and report back to me as soon as you figure this out."

"Yes sir," the two men said. Q took the flashdrive from M and they both left the room. Bond stopped to talk to Moneypenny and Q continued to the Q Division. There he set to work.

He worked nonstop for two hours, Bond coming in and out of the office and doing his best to help think up ideas. They were getting close to the ten hour mark and Q was beginning to panic.

"This is fruitless," he sighed. "I can't find any sort of lead to find them."

"Well, look harder," James said, not even sounding worried.

"How can you sit there and be so calm?" Q asked.

"Easy, I'm not emotionally involved in the case," the agent explained, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I see, because this is my friend that's in danger, you don't care if we win or lose," Q looked at him with a gaze of loathing. "What if this was Moneypenny in danger? Hm?"

"I don't know what you are implying, but I'd feel the same way about the case."

"That's a lie and you know it. Everyone here knows about you two."

"Now you're letting your imagination get to you Q," Bond pushed himself off the counter and walked towards the doorway.

"Penelope is the only girl I've ever talked to without pushing away," Q confessed, his voice suddenly quiet. Bond stopped and turned to look at the young man. He saw the sadness in his eyes before he looked down to avoid looking at the confused agent. "To be honest, she's the first person I've not pushed away. I've never made friends, due to the fact that I'm, in your words, a pompous know-it-all twat. Penelope is the first person to look past that and like me for who I am. Not just tolerated me because I'm her boss or the Quartermaster. But because she likes me. Or at least, I think she did. Now, I doubt she'd ever like me again since I have the ability to save her but might not be able to at this point."

There was a thick silence between the two men. Q continued to type on the laptop and James looked around the room, trying to think up something to say. He was about to move to say something to comfort Q, but the screens turned red. Pickerton was communicating with them.

The screen didn't give them a message this time, but went straight to the livefeed. Eddie was standing next to Penelope again, the girl leaning as far away from him as her binds could allow her. Q saw the cut on her arm had not been cleaned nor dressed, and worried about the oncoming infection she would most likely get. The good news was she was still alive, and she was awake.

"I'm growing very impatient dear Quartermaster," Eddie started. "I want my flashdrive. So as soon as you find it, I want you to type in "Q is an idiot" into the instant message window that will pop up on your cute little laptop when I'm off of here. When you send that message, it means you have the drive. If you send me the message and don't have the flashdrive, dear Penelope's brains will paint the wall. And you don't want that, do you?"

He crouched on the ground, and folded his hands. His voice got very serious.

"Now, once you've sent me the message, my driver will pick you up- you and only you Quartermaster. Bond is not allowed to come, and neither is any of your other stupid agents. You're going to be blindfolded. My driver will take you to the meeting place. There we'll trade. You get you're girlfriend, and I get my flashdrive. Remember Q, if anything goes wrong, if you are followed, if me or any of my men die, you can be certain of one thing- Penny is going with us. To da loo."

The screen went black before the regular pages came back up. A small instant message box appeared in the corner. The title of it said "Clock is ticking."

"Okay, we know what he wants us to do, now we have to figure out we need to do," Bond said. "We need to get to M.


	4. Chapter 4

Q walked out of MI6, his bag slung across his body. He immediantly saw the driver who was to drive him to the meeting place. He became nervous, silently praying everything would work according to plan.

"You must be my chauffuer," Q greeted the anonomous driver. The man only grunted in responce, and pulled out a blindfold. Q sighed and removed his glasses. "Well, let's get this bit over with."

The driver roughly tied the blind over Q's eyes, making sure he would not be able to see out. He then shoved Q into the passenger seat and closed the door behind him. The driver got in his own spot and started the car. They were soon driving to a location only the man driving knew. And Q feared for his life.

* * *

The drive took about 15 minutes. The entire time, the driver kept checking Q's blindfold to make sure he did not try to move it so he could see out. When they finally reached their destination, Q was pulled out from the car and dragged inside by two new people. They were not careful with him, instead walking at a brisk speed, causing him to fumble over his feet.

They reached a room and the blindfold was removed. Q blinked, and pulled his glasses out of his pocket. Putting them on, he saw that he was in an expansive underground cement room, much like a parking garage, only there were no cars. Instead, at the other end of the room, was Penelope handcuffed to a chair. Q's breathing stopped. The damage Pickerton had done to her was much worse in person- not to say that it was not bad on camera. He could see the blood, dried and crusting around her nose and on her arm. The bruises, new and old formed on her face, framing her eyes and covering her cheeks. Her lips were cut and her hair was stringy from sweat and blood and dirt. Her clothes were in shambles, ripped and bloody.  
Q wanted to run to her, hug her, tell her she was going to he safe. Anything. He wanted to grab her and run. Take her somewhere safe. But he knew he could not do that. He had to keep himself composed. For both of their sakes.

"So you found my flashdrive," Pickerton walked into the room from a door behind Penelope. He looked at Q, a smug grin on his face. "I knew you would. You're to smart for your own good."

Q pulled the flashdrive out of his pocket. "So much trouble for a little piece of technology," he started. "What's on here anyways?"

"What? Are you telling me you, the all-mighty Quartermaster was not able to get into a basic flashdrive? Has the world stopped turning?"

"I have to admit, it was not a simple task," Q lied through his teeth with ease. "Penelope here is smarter than any of us ever imagined. Why M put her to work as a secretary instead of a coder I shall never know."

"No, you shan't. But this only dissapoints me," Eddie looked at Penelope, a look of faux saddness on his face. "I was hoping you could figure it out for me and I wouldn't have to waste any more precious time. Why would you make things difficult for me Penny dear?"

He stroked her cheek. Q fought the urge to rush over and beat his face in.

"Never the less, I still want it and you still want the girl, so let's trade, shall we?" Eddie looked back at Q. He pulled a small key intended for the handcuffs out of his pocket and unlocked the locks around Penelope's wrists. Once she was free, he yanked her to her feet. "Hand the drive to my man there," he pointed at one of them men who had dragged Q into the room. "And I'll give you the bitch."

Q reluctantly handed the flashdrive to the unnamed man. As soon as it was in his possession, Eddie threw Penelope foreward. She stumbled to the ground, but quickly got back to her feet and hobbled towards Q as fast as her injured body could allow her. Q met her halfway and they embraced in a hug. As soon as she was in his arms, Penelope started crying, much to her dismay. She was just so happy to be with someone trustworth again. Someone who would not hurt her. Q ran his hands through her matted hair, whispering to her that it was okay, that she was safe.

"Oh isn't that sweet?" They heard Eddie sneer. They pulled apart and looked at him. He held his flashdrive in his hand and a gun in the other, pointed at them. "You think you're going to get out of here alive? I bet you think that, don't you? Well, I have to admit, I sort of led you on, didn't I?"

"You have your flashdrive, now you have to let us go," Q argued.

"No I don't," Eddie shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't have to do anything. Now that I've got this, I can do anything I want. And I think I'll start by having you two killed off."

Penelope's hand tightened around Q's. She knew this would happen. Eddie was a sick man. He loved bloodshed. That was something she had learned first-hand over the last 15 hours. Q looked down at her, sensing her fear. Not sure what exactly was going to happen next, he wrapped his arms around her, Penelope tucking her face into his chest so she did not have to see the gun pointed at them. Q closed his eyes, waiting for the shot meant for them. But it never happened.

Instead, loud _ping_ing noise zipped through the room, followed by the armed mens' cries of pain. Q looked up and saw all of of Eddie's men down on the ground dead. Pickerton looked at them, shocked. He waved his gun around, screaming, "Come out where I can see you!"

"If that's what you want," they heard Bond say as he stepped through a door.

"I should have known it was you," Eddie smiled at the agent.

"Not just me," Bond raised his eyebrows. Both sets of doors behind Eddie and Q were both opened, revealing a crowd of agents all weilding guns. They swarmed the room, surrounding Eddie. Realizing he had lost, he slowely put the gun down on the ground, and placed his hands behind his head.

"You really are a bloody idiot if you thought this stupid plan was going to work," Bond patronized Pickerton, his gun pointing at the head of the lunatic. Eddie only rolled his eyes, defeated.

"Looks like you've won this time Quartermaster," Eddie grinned at the young genius. "Oh, and dear Penny, don't worry about sending me love letters to my prison cell. I'll be out again soon, and I'll come find you. And I will destroy you."

Penelope tightened her arms around Q. Q took her out of the room, following Bond to the car that he had come in. The three of them got in, and the driver started the car, driving to MI6. None of them said a word, Penelope still holding onto Q from the shock. Feeling the need to comfort her, and show her that she truely was safe now, he gingerly rubbed her back with his hand, trying to be careful should she have any bruises there- which was inevitable after her beatings. Being reminded of them, he suddenly became very protective of her. He swore to himself that he would never let her be harmed again. As soon as they were back at MI6, Q was going to have Penelope hand over all the information she had and stow it away in his database, so should anyone try to get ahold of it, they would never know she was involved.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read my story. I really appreciate it. If any of you have something to say please do review it, as that really helps me out. I'll be writing a new story soon (not a James Bond one, but another).

* * *

Winter in London was always very grey. But that did not stop the festivities of Christmas time from getting into the offices at MI6. M had been reluctant to let them have a small holiday gathering, but after some persuassion from Bond, he finally relented. On the condition, that it only last a few hours, and the drinking was kept to a minimum. He did not need drunk agents on his hands should anything come up.

Penelope stood by the beverage table, waiting for the bartender to mix her drink. She watched as others mingled, chatting and laughing about God knows what and getting just tipsy enough to feel cheerful about the holidays.

"Seems like an interesting party," she heard Q next to her. She looked over and saw the Quartermaster standing beside her, his own cocktail in hand, and a foolish-looking elf hat on his head. At the sight of him, she could not help but laugh.

"Yes, yes, laugh all you like, it was not my idea, believe me." Q frowned. "Moneypenny begged me to wear it, and Bond and Tanner backed her up. Unfortunitly, the whole purpose to get me to wear it was for a photo op, so be prepared, they're going to be posting that on the bullitan no doubt."  
Penelope grinned ear to ear at this news. "I can't wait. It'll be a picture for the records most definitly."

"I certainly hope not," Q smiled back at her.

"Your drink, ma'am," the bartender handed Penelope her glass, and she and Q walked away, Q removing the hat and abandoning it at a lone desk. They walked back towards the Q Division, not really ones for parties.

Sitting down on her desk, Penelope sipped from her glass, not saying a word.

It had been three months since the Pickerton incident, and she was still feeling ill about it all. She felt comforted by the fact that Q had taken all her findings from her hacking days and hid them away, cutting off any connection between them and herself. However, she still was paranoid. She had a hard time walking alone anymore, always afraid someone was behind her, ready to grab her at any moment. She became highly aware of any new agents brought in, making sure she did her own background check on them till she felt completely sure that their intentions were not malicious.  
Of course, Q had taken a notice. He knew what she was doing when she went on a full crusade to do checks on new employees. He could see it on his own screen, after getting into her office computer. He watched as she delved into agents pasts, digging up anything, even if it was sealed. He knew that she never found anything suspicious enough to go to M. If she had, he would have beat her to M's door.

Q also watched her to make sure she was alright. To see if she was showing signs of post-tramatic stress, depression, anxiety- anything that might need a therapist check. Penelope had a fantastic talent at hiding her problems, so he could never see anything. But he still checked up on her, calling her when she got home, emailing her at work throughout the day. He even started bring her the tea instead of the other way around.  
"What are you doing for the holidays?" Q asked Penelope as he joined her in sitting on her desk.

"Staying at home with my cat," Penelope smiled weakly. "Having no family means I never have to deal with gatherings. So I always sit at home, watching _A Christmas Story_ and eating ice cream out of the carton."

"Well, that does sound enjoyable," Q said. "Not the having no family part, that's terrible! But, um, I mean, it sounds much more agreeable than my Christmas. I go to visit my family and it always turns to hell thanks to my two brothers. Poor mother always having to deal with hissy fits between them."

"Sounds interesting," Penelope laughed.

"It definitly is," Q took a drank from his cocktail. When Penelope said nothing, he looked over at her. She looked down at her own drink, a sad look on her face. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine, completely fine," she said, not looking up.

"I can tell you're lying. Please don't lie to me. I'm your boss."

She sighed. "Are you really going to pull that on me? Push me around because you're in charge here?" Q shrugged and nodded his head. "Fine. No I'm really not fine. I'm scared, and paranoid, and feel pathetic because every night I can't sleep and when I do I have nightmares. And I hate myself for how stupid I'm being and for crying and everything. And every morning I wake up and look in the mirror and I see the scars and I know that no matter what they will never go away."

She stopped talking. Q placed his drink down and took her hand. Penelope looked up at him.

"You are not pathetic or stupid. You have every right to be scared. You've been though something terrible, and it's hard to get over something so horrible as that expirience. Please, don't ever say you're pathetic. You fought a lot harder than most people to survive that. And so what about the scars? Yes, they're a reminder of Pickerton and all he did to you, but they don't make you any less beautiful. They are signs of how strong you are, how you strived to live when Pickerton wanted you dead."

He paused, not sure what more to say. Penelope stared at him. After a moment of silence, she said, "you think I'm beautiful?"

Q blushed, realizing what he had said. Yes he thought she was beautiful, but he never intended to tell her. At least, not now. He was trying to comfort her, not hit on her.

"Um... yes, I suppose," he mumbled. "Is that all you got from that?"

Penelope shook her head no. Q looked down, unsure of what his next move would be. He did not see Penelope's face smile, but he did feel the kiss she palced on his cheek. He whipped his head around to look at her. "Why did you do that?" he asked, immediantly regretting asking that.

"Because I felt like it," Penelope stated, matter-of-factly.

"Do you always do things because you feel like it?" Q asked. Penelope nodded. They smield at each other, before Q decided to be brave and lean in.  
Their lips met for a short, gentle kiss. When they pulled away, they stared at each other, both ignoring the others blushing cheeks.

"Well it's about bloody time," James walked into the office, carrying a bottle of brandy and two glasses. Moneypenny followed him in, holding two more glasses. "I was wondering when you two would do that."

"Oh leave them be Bond," Moneypenny swatted at him as he placed the glasses down and opened the bottle. He poured the brandy into the four glasses and began passing them out.

"A toast," James held his glass up. "To the office's newest couple."

"To the newest couple!" Moneypenny happily raised her glass, grinning at the two younger people.

"But we- oh forget it," Q rolled his eyes and raised his glass. "To the newest couple," he mumbled. He put his arm around Penelope and they both laughed.

"Now, why don't you invite her on your visit to your family for Christmas," James suggested, pouring himself another drink.

"Oh I don't-" Moneypenny interupted Q's arguement.

"That's a great idea! Penelope has no plans, and weren't you just complaining the other day that you never have any good company on those trips to see your family? Well, Penelope would certainly be a good companion. And what better way to introduce her to the family than Christmastime, eh?"

"I hardly think we should rush into things like that," Q stammered.

"I wouldn't mind," Penelope shrugged. "And we could always say I'm just a friend, rather than a girlfriend."

"But-"

"Then it's decided," Bond said. "Penelope you will go with dear Q to his families for Christmas and _not _be alone, and Q will have someone decent to talk to."

Q sighed, obviously defeated.

"Now, let's go join the others, shall we?" Bond held out his arm for Moneypenny, which she gladly took, and they walked out of the office.

"Well, I suppose if you are going with me to my families, you're going to have to call me by my real name," Q said.

"But you're not supposed to give out your real name. Security reasons?"

"Yes, well, we're not exactly supposed to date anyone in the secret service, but we seem to be breaking that one already. Might as well break another rule while we're at it."

"It only seems fair, since you've known my name, address, and phone number for a year and half now."

"Yes, it is."

Penelope smiled, a bit excited about learning Q's real name. She had always wondered what it was, but had refrained from hacking into his sealed file to find out. She felt he deserved the privacy.

"It's Quinn. Quinn Holmes."


End file.
